Not As It Seems
by BookWorm37
Summary: Sam's acting strange...Four mysterious jars are found on a planet...What does all this have to do with Pandora? Read on and find out! COMPLETE
1. Jars

A/N: Yes, I know - another one! Luckily for all of you - this entire story is written, I'm just going to be extremely slow posting if no one reviews.

* * *

"Come on, Carter! You're holdin' up the train!" Jack hollered back to his 2IC. 

Carter glared menacingly at her CO. She was wet, cold, hormonal, in her dress blues, and one of her Stiletto heels had just gotten stuck in the bog-like mud they were trying to walk through. It was _not_ a good day to bug her about the speed at which she was walking.

"Well, _sir_, if it hadn't been 'completely necessary' to march through this god-forsaken swamp to get to the ruins – _in my dress blues_ maybe I'd be walking faster!"

"It's not so bad, Sam," Daniel tried to encourage her. He would have been willing to walk five miles in the unforgiving mud to see the ruins described to them by the tribal leader they had just met for diplomatic negotiations. While the people were primitive, their history revealed many interesting things about the Goa'uld and some tests they had done with genetic experiments on the larval state of the symbiote.

Sam glared at Daniel, "You wanna trade shoes? I'm wearing _heels_, Daniel. _Three and a half inch Stiletto heels_. _Don't_ tell me it's not that bad."

Daniel looked away, like a scolded child. It was now Teal'c's turn to try his luck at breaching past 'the female's' dark mood. "Would you prefer to have me carry you, Major Carter?"

Sam almost broke down into the tears she had been trying to suppress all day. That was just so sweet! Only Teal'c would even think of carrying her, and only he actually _could_ while keeping up with the rest of the team. The feminist side of her wanted to scream 'no!'; luckily it was slightly louder than the hormonal side of her that wanted to be held and treated like a girl for once on this trip.

She shook her head, "I'll be fine, Teal'c!" She glared at all three of her companions, causing 'the fear of God' to rise upon them, "If anyone else decides that I need to be carried or something archaic like that I will teach you _why_ Air Force officers _don't_ make good damsels in distress."

Daniel raised his eyebrows at Jack as Sam pushed her way past her halted teammates. What the hell was wrong with her? _PMSing again probably_, he thought vaguely, _No... that was two weeks ago. There's _noway_ she could be PMSing again this soon… oh, well. Hey, maybe Jack knows!_

"Jack?" Daniel asked as the three male members of SG1 started walking again. "Why's Sam so 'PMS'-y?"

Jack shrugged, "I think it's 'cause tomorrow's the anniversary of her mom's death, but it's _Carter_. Maybe she's just mad that you dragged her away from that damned naquadah reactor to go to a political meeting?"

Daniel shook his head, "That can't be it. She told me she wanted to come to that meeting – I didn't ask her to. And her mom died twenty years ago _next_ Thursday, Jack – not this Thursday."

"Teal'c!" Jack called, motioning the Jaffa forward. When he was walking beside them, Jack asked, "When's the anniversary of Carter's mom's death?"

"Tomorrow, O'Neill. What is the reason for your inquiry?"

"Nothin', just wanted to know."

"Very well."

Jack turned back to Daniel triumphantly, "Told ya so."

Daniel just glared at Jack before running to catch up with Sam who had stopped a couple hundred yards away – right in front of the temple Daniel had wanted to investigate.

Inside Jack thought it looked like every other temple they'd come across. There was Goa'uld writing on the walls and it was empty. Or so he thought.

"Teal'c, can you come over here a second and translate this for me?" Sam asked as she stared at a section of the wall in confused concentration.

"It reads 'Herein lies hope, destruction, joy, and malady.', Major Carter."

Carter and Daniel exchanged a look. "What do you think it means, Daniel?" she asked quietly, as if they were in a library – or a tomb.

Daniel shrugged, "I don't know, but maybe… There we are," he said as he pushed a series of hieroglyphs causing a portion of the wall to push in and to the side revealing a small indintation containing four ceramic jars. They looked a lot like the ones Isis and Osiris had been found in, but the markings on the outside were different.

Archeologist though he was, Daniel couldn't figure out what the markings on any of the jars said. "Teal'c? What does this say? Do you know what language it is written in?"

Teal'c took one of the jars from Daniel, examining it closely, "I do not. It appears to be a form of Ancient or Asgard."

Jack looked at the jars and upon seeing the language, warning signs started going off in the back of his mind. "Why don't we pack 'em up for transport and you guys can study them back at the SGC."

"Sure, but first, let's get some pictures of them here," Daniel acquiesced. While the pictures were being taken with the digital camera Daniel had in his suit pocket, one of the team's guides went back to where they had left their gear in the city to bring them a box for transportation through the 'gate.

While Daniel was picking one of the jars up from its resting place and bringing it over to the container, it slipped and fell, shattering when it hit the edge of the transportation vessel. A white cloud of dust filled the air, causing everyone to start coughing.

Sam made the mistake of trying to inhale right as the jar broke, and some of the dust entered into her lungs. Only seconds after it appeared, the white discoloration in the air vanished, with Sam still coughing from the intrusion into her body.

Seeing Carter's sickened state, Jack pulled her out into the open air surrounding the temple. "Teal'c!" he called in a command voice, "I'm gonna take Carter back to the SGC so she can get checked out by the doc, okay?"

"Very well, O'Neill. I shall remain and see Daniel Jackson and the remaining jars safely to the compound."

O'Neill nodded, "Thanks, buddy." Carter was breathing in sharp, ragged breaths of air, every now and then breaking into another fit of coughing.

_Well, this is interesting. I've never seen the inside of such a beauty as this before._ The being floated through its new abode, finding the place that would be most beneficial to its purposes, _Now, how about a trip down memory lane, shall we?_ The being settled down as 'comfortably' as it could get before starting the tour…

* * *

A/N: Such an evil ending, isn't it? Some of you may find similarities between this story and **Albi**'s recent 'Alter Ego' - the two are based off the same basic consept, but _entirely _different! 

Please REVIEW!


	2. Strange

A/N: Ohh! Thank you all so much for the wonderful reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside - feelings I need since I'm performing in less than a week! Oh, and I'm sorry to anyone who's confused about Sam's outfit - that's just how I chose to dress her. And for all of you who don't know, I do hate reading cliffhangers if the author doesn't review regularly - but I love writing them!

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Back at the SGC infirmary, Anne ran every test she could think of on Sam – even a few that didn't even make sense to run, all at Jack's insistence to make sure that nothing was wrong with her.

"Sir, I'm going to have to wait on the results of the more extensive tests, but as it is, everything I've got back says she's in perfect health. I think she was probably just allergic to the dust," Anne tried explaining to Jack calmly. "Now, I told her to go home and rest for the rest of the day. She's banned from her lab. Sir, it would probably be best if you drove her home so that we can make sure she's there at least."

"Sure, Doc," something in the back of Jack's mind was still nagging at him and telling him that there was something seriously wrong with Carter… he just didn't know what. "She ready to go?"

Anne nodded, "Yes, sir. She's just getting dressed. Don't let her pick up anything from her lab. I wasn't joking when I said she's banned until 0800 tomorrow, sir."

Jack nodded again, "Sure thing, Doc." Sam came out of the infirmary, looking a little worse for wear, "You ready to go, Carter? The Doc here says you can't go to your lab until 0800 tomorrow. Need to get anything from the locker room?"

Sam stared at him with a glazed expression in her eyes, "That's fine, sir. I'd really just like to go home and sleep if you don't mind."

Anne and Jack raised their eyebrows at each other in silent wonderment at Sam's sudden willingness to go home. Anne recalled that not half an hour before she'd been whining and complaining that she had too much stuff to do just to be sent home because she got into a coughing fit on one mission.

* * *

On the way home, Sam was incredibly quiet. Only speaking once Jack had parked the car in her driveway. It was almost 2000 hours and was very dark outside since it was the middle of winter. 

"Do you want to come in for some coffee, Jack?" she asked as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

_Jack_? Where had that come from? "Umm, look, Carter, I don't think that'd be appropriate given the circumstances."

Sam's gaze said otherwise. Finally, he relented. _This is a bad idea,_ the reasonable part of his brain told him constantly. _This is a really good idea, just think about what might happen?_ the human half of him insisted. _Bad! Bad! Jack! Very, very bad!_

The evening went well, despite the odd request from Carter. No, it was Sam who made the request, 'Carter' was shoved aside so Sam could act like the woman so many forgot she was (or wouldn't let her forget she was).

It was nearing midnight when Sam's eyes started to droop and Jack decided he better be going home. "Stay," she mumbled when he made to leave. "At least until I fall asleep."

No harm in that, right? It wasn't like she was inviting him to join her in bed or anything. Was she? No, no, Carter would never do that. Would she?

Jack felt himself nod, "Of course I'll stay, Carter."

She was asleep in moments, but suddenly her eyes opened and she sat up. Wait a minute – her eyes. There was something wrong with her eyes… but what?

Jack couldn't tell what was wrong with them, there was just something wrong with them.

Sam looked right through him and glared, spitting on the ground she said, "Kneel before your master, slave!" before passing out right in front of Jack.

The Colonel picked up his cell phone and called the base, getting a Med Team sent to Sam's house immediately. Inside he was screaming and yelling, wanting to know what the hell had happened to his Carter to make her act like that.

When the Med Team arrived, Sam was still out after her little 'episode'. At the SGC, Jack paced the hallway outside the infirmary anxiously as the new CMO of the base, Dr. Brightman, ran test after test on Sam's frail body.

* * *

About half an hour after arriving on base, Sam was sleeping in a drug-induced haze while Dr. Brightman, General Hammond, and the rest of SG1 discussed Brightman's findings in the briefing room. 

Anne looked down at her papers nervously as she tried to stall the inevitable telling of the test results to the four concerned men in front of her.

"Well, doctor, any time you're ready to begin," General Hammond gave the floor over to the very nervous physician.

Dr. Brightman looked up and met the General's gaze, "Thank you, sir. The test results don't really leave much room for debate." She passed out copies of the results to the men present "If I could have you look at the scan of the area where her spine connects with her brain."

Jack frowned at the scan copy in front of him. It was blurry. Photocopiers didn't produce this kind of a blur. "Dr. Brightman, what exactly are we looking at?"

"I'm not sure, Colonel."

"You're not _sure_?"

"No, sir. I don't know what that is. But, frankly sirs, the other test results are what have me worried at the moment." At her prompt, the four men turned the page in their notes and were confronted with another scan copy.

"Major Carter's two months pregnant."

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A/N: Oohh! Dun, dun, dun! Another cliff hanger! If you're nice and all of you review...I might post on Saturday...but if no one reviews - where's the motivation?  



	3. Personalities

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! I've been trying to post this since yesterday, but the damn site wouldn't let me upload this document! Enjoy!

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"Be careful with that thing, Holly!" Dr. Lee ordered his newest assistant as she removed one of the three remaining jars from its case. Unfortunately for the jar, and Holly, Dr. Lee's sudden remark caused her to jump – dropping the jar in the process. 

Dust again filled the air as the jar broke into a million little pieces. Holly (making the same mistake Sam had made) breathed in the unforgiving dust particles, causing her to slump into a fit of coughing not unlike the one Sam had partaken of on the planet.

Dr. Lee immediately paged a medical team to his lab as he helped Holly sit down so the young woman wouldn't just end up collapsing on the floor. He handed her a glass of water as the Med Team rushed in. Dr. Brightman saw the woman's state and immediately thought of the way Jack described Sam's state on the planet.

As the coughing subsided, Anne approached Holly with her stethoscope, checking Holly's breathing and heart rate. "What happened, Dr. Lee?" she asked as she put her stethoscope back around her neck.

"She was picking one of the jars up from the transport containers and right after I told her to be careful it slipped, fell, and broke. Then this dust came out and she started coughing like that." Holly was the first competent assistant Dr. Lee had had since he began working at the SGC, there was no _way_ he'd let anything happen to her.

Anne was almost positive it was the same thing Sam had, all she needed was an MRI scan to prove her point. "Let's get her up to the infirmary where we can do an MRI. Dr. Lee, if you'll excuse me."

"Is she going to be okay, Doctor?"

"I don't know, Dr. Lee. Holly, if you have what I think you have, there's really nothing we can do. Oh, and Dr. Lee? Don't let anyone else touch those last two jars. We don't have a clue what we're dealing with here, if Holly has what I think she has, then I don't want anyone else getting infected. Understood?"

Dr. Lee nodded, mutely, praying that Holly would be all right.

* * *

When the MRI came back, Anne looked at it and swore. Deep in her heart she'd been hoping that Holly's scans would come back clean, but they were the same as Sam's. There was a dark smudge at the area where Holly's brain connected to her spine. The only thought that Dr. Brightman had at the moment was that the area the smudge – for lack of a better word – covered was the same area a Goa'uld symbiote attached itself to. 

She turned to the SF at her side and told him, "I want a 24 hour guard on both Major Carter and Dr. Newman."

"Yes, ma'am," he said before immediately leaving to post the guard.

Dr. Brightman rubbed her face with her hand, desperately trying to figure out what she was going to say to General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill. Dr. Jackson and Teal'c had filled her in early on in her assignment to the SGC, after finding out that she was going to be the permanent replacement for the recently deceased Dr. Fraiser, about the close relationship between the CO and 2IC of SG-1.

"So, Doc?" Jack said from the doorway to her office. "What's wrong with Holly?"

Dr. Brightman shrugged, "I don't know, sir. It's the same thing as Major Carter, but right now I have no idea what that is."

Jack nodded, not liking that answer at all. He was fond of Dr. Lee's newest 'assistant' and didn't want her to be hurt any more than he wanted Sam hurt… okay so not _that_ much. He did, after all, know that Sam was pregnant.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"Tell General Hammond?"

He looked around her office as if searching for something.

"What?" Anne asked curiously.

"Have you been drinking while on duty recently? I'm not _that_ crazy!"

* * *

Sam was groggy when she woke up. She could feel the presence of that _thing_ in her but she had no idea why it was there or what it even was. It reminded her of when she was the host of Jolinar… but her symbiote had had a calming presence about her that put Sam at ease. Whatever _this_ was felt more like the entity that she had been subject to. 

She tried to open her eyes, but the lids refused to obey. _Don't even try to move,_ a menacing voice said in her mind. _I'm in control now. There's nothing you can do about it – slave._

'_Who are you?'_ Sam asked desperately to the voice in her head.

_Malady._

* * *

It was getting late, and as Holly tried to sleep, her mind was filled with relaxing images of her when she was a child, a double sunset on a planet she'd visited the year before… there was even one of the dinner her fiancé had made her for their third anniversary. By the time she drifted into a restful slumber in the early hours of the morning, she was relaxed and didn't feel one bit like she had when she'd broken the vase. 

'_Who are you?_' Holly asked the being in her mind.

_I am Hope, one of four sisters trapped in four jars. Am I the only one out?_

Holly mentally shook her head, '_No, I was not the first to break a jar. Major Carter broke one on the planet you were found at.'_

_Do you remember the symbols on that jar? _When Holly brought up a mental image of the jar Daniel had broken on the planet, Hope cringed. _I must move quickly. She has Malady inside of her! I must take over your body to relay the method of stopping her to your doctors. Will you let me do that?_

'_Do I really have a choice?'_

_Not if you want the woman you call Carter to survive._

'_I thought as much.'_

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A/N: So? What think you? Please review! I'm really stressed out about my play - performing at the end of this week! And I need something to cheer me up!  



	4. Surprise

A/N: So, I just got back from opening night...hehehe, when I tripped on the phone cord in the first act (my character's drunk) I took the table the phone was ATTACHED to down with me. hehehe, so funny.

* * *

_Good, this is good. Your child will be the carrier of my plague._ Sam felt sick at the thought of _this_ **thing** using her baby as a tool to spread a disease, but she was even more sickened by the fact that the **thing** knew she was pregnant before she did.

'_Whatever it is you think you'll gain by this – you're wrong. They'll give you nothing!'_

Sam felt a mental chuckle from the **thing**, _My dear, who said anything about wanting something from your people? All I _want_ is to kill you all. You do know how to die – don't you? I met a race once that didn't. That didn't end well for my sisters or me._

At this point Sam completely shut down her mental connection with the **thing** controlling her. If it wanted them to die she'd have to do everything in her power to _live_.

As she burrowed further into her mind, trying to escape the **thing** in control of her, she could feel it laughing at her desperate antics. _You cannot hide from me! Now you are me. I hope you've said goodbye to all your friends, you won't be talking to them again._

Fear coursed throughout Sam's veins, a fear she hadn't felt since she was under the control of the Entity so many years before. '_Help'_, she yelled out desperately in her mind. '_Help me, please_!'

Her mind was encompassed with the darkness of unconsciousness, and as she felt herself slip away into oblivion, all she could hear was the heartless, joyless chuckle of the **thing** that was inside of her.

* * *

Hope took control of her host slowly; reassuring Holly every step of the way that she could be put back into the jar after Malady was contained. Holly's eyes took on a silver sheen to their depths as she sat up on her bed, causing Teal'c to look over at her from his vantage point next to Sam's bed. 

"Who are you?" Hope asked him plainly. '_Teal'c_!' Holly said from her mind, '_That's_ _Teal'c_!'

Teal'c looked at her strangely, with one of his eyebrows cocked up, "I am Teal'c. Are you well Holly Newman?"

"This is not Holly, Teal'c. My name is Hope. You are Jaffa, correct? Who was your master before you came here?"

Warning bells went off in Teal'c head but he answered nonetheless, "I was first prime of the false god Apophis."

"I am one of four sisters. Four sisters; two for good, two for evil. Many years ago there was a Goa'uld named Pandora who created us. Have you heard the story?"

Teal'c nodded, "Indeed I have. It is forbidden to speak of among the Jaffa, but there are those who remember it still and tell of the four sisters locked away in Pandora's box."

"Teal'c, the sister inside of your friend is Malady. Hers is the most devastating of sicknesses. Even Destruction, at her worst, can only affect the outside world." Having just thought of another factor that would play heavily into the outcome of Malady's embodiment, Hope added, "Is Major Carter with child?"

"Indeed."

Hope swore underneath her breath before collapsing on the bed. Teal'c rushed forward to check her pulse and breathing, before rushing out of the room to call Dr. Brightman.

* * *

"So, you're telling me that whatever is inside of Carter is named _Malady_ and there's another thing inside of Holly named Hope. Hope is Malady's sister but she's also willing to help us kill Malady or put her back in her jar. Is that right?" Jack asked with a scowl firmly implanted on his face. It just got more confusing by the minute! 

"Yes, Colonel, that's exactly what I'm telling you," Dr. Brightman said in her ever patient way. "If Hope can actually provide us with a means of getting Malady out of Major Carter… it's our only chance right now, sirs."

Hammond looked at Jack, watching the younger man's face as he went through the options and consequences in his head. "It's your call, Jack," Hammond whispered. "If you don't want to do it then I'll pull the plug right now."

Jack was silent for a few minutes and after a while Dr. Brightman wondered if he'd even heard the question. His face remained like stone to the doctor that didn't know him as well as the late Janet Fraiser. But to Teal'c, Daniel, and Hammond, who were in the room for the briefing, anguish and torment swept through his eyes.

"There's no choice," Jack said finally, startling the poor doctor. "If we don't trust Hope then Carter will die."

* * *

"Malady," Hope looked down at the sleeping form of her sister. The body she wore as her own was beautiful, and briefly Hope wondered if Malady had entered the female because of this trait. 

"Go away, Hope," Malady said as she opened the eyes of her host. "Why are you awake? The others are not – I cannot feel the presence of Joy or Destruction."

"I could ask you the same thing, sister of mine. But then I know the answer." Hope sat down and looked at her sister's host again; her eyes dwelling on the still flat stomach that contained their only hope for survival and the very thing that might doom them all to death at the hands of Malady's sickness.

Malady's smile was sinister and revealed so much of her character, "Then you must also be aware of the child inside this body, which will act as Carrier for my disease. There is nothing any of them – or you – can do to stop it."

Hope rose gracefully, turning to exit the containment cell Malady was in. She was at the door before she turned around to look again at her sister, "Perhaps, Malady. Perhaps there is nothing any of us can do about your disease. Perhaps there is."

After leaving the containment cell, Hope turned and traveled to General Hammond's office, two SFs in tow. She knocked on the open door and waited for Hammond and O'Neill to stop talking before she came in.

"I need to know who the father of Major Carter's child is." The statement was blatant and caused both men to look up. Jack knew the answer to that question; General Hammond suspected; Hope didn't know at all.

"Why?" Jack asked, inquisitive as ever.

"Major Carter was the host of a Tok'ra named Jolinar, correct? Well, the only reason we were able to be placed inside Pandora's box was because Pandora's host had a specific gene that marked her as one of the descendants of the Ancient beings that built the Stargates. If the father of Major Carter's child has this gene then the child is the key to putting Malady back in her box."

"I thought it was a jar," Jack said.

Hope just gave him a look that said, "Don't argue fine points with me right now, this is far too important."

"Colonel O'Neill?" Hammond asked, bringing both of their attentions to him. "Do you know who the father of her child is?"

"Yes."

"Care to share that information with us?"

"Not really."

"If you do not, then you condemn Major Carter, and this world, to death. The child's life will be worse: as Carrier of the plague, it will have no effect on them – but they will live to see everyone they love and care for die. Please, Colonel."

Jack shut his eyes, unable to bear what he was about to say while looking into Hammond's face. "Me… I'm the father."

* * *

A/N: So? What do you all think? I'd really appreciate some feedback.  



	5. Bringing This Thing to a Head

A/N: Okay! So I got back from my cast/crew party just before 0300 this morning. And now I'm posting. Please review!

* * *

Jack shut his eyes, unable to bear what he was about to say while looking into Hammond's face. "Me… I'm the father."

"**_What_**?" Hammond roared, unable to contain his wrath that two of his top officers had done that. "When?"

Jack looked down, shame keeping him from meeting Hammond's gaze, "Right after Janet died. Never before or since. Sir."

"Please, General Hammond," Hope intervened before the situation could escalate. "You may deal with the personal relationship between Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill _after_ we have contained Malady again."

Hammond nodded stiffly to Hope before turning back to his 2IC, "Don't think we're done with this by any means."

"Not at all, sir."

Daniel, for once in his life, was speechless. Two of his best friends had slept together – AND NO ONE TOLD HIM! That was just wrong on so many levels.

"Should you not tell us how to recreate the bonds that held Malady for so long, Hope?" Teal'c asked solemnly as ever.

Hope looked forlorn, "I do not know precisely how you will accomplish it, but we need to get a vial of blood from the child. The fetus itself should expel Malady from Major Carter's body if it's strong enough. If the child is not, there is an alternative, but I doubt some of you would like it."

"What's the vial of blood for?" Daniel asked curiously.

"When mixed with a certain type of clay and powdered naquadah, the blood creates a binding that will imprison people of my race. This is what we _hope_ to accomplish."

"But the fetus is so small – what if we can't get that much blood from it?" Brightman pointed out pessimistically.

Hope turned to her with resolve on her face, "Do you have blood samples of Major Carter on hand?" At Dr. Brightman's affirmative, she continued, "If Colonel O'Neill were to submit, then we would take a small blood sample from each of them, mixing them as we would the blood of the child. It's a very risky choice, but it might work."

Anne nodded, "Okay, then, let's get to work."

* * *

Dr. Warner carefully inserted the needle into Major Carter's uterus, trying his best not to 'alert' Malady to his intentions. He got the scope as close to the tiny fetus as he dared then looked through, trying to determine if they could salvage enough blood. 

"There's no chance in hell this is going to work," Jack said as he watched from the observation room. "The kid's too small! You'd have better luck going for the placenta."

Teal'c raised an eyebrow at O'Neill as Hope responded, "The placenta would not be effective, Colonel O'Neill – it is made up primarily of the mother's blood and tissue, not the father's. If this is going to work, the father's blood needs to be equally present in the mixture."

Dr. Warner looked up and shook his head, "The fetus is too small. If I even tried to take a few drops of blood from it, then it could result in death. We'll have to resort to plan B, General Hammond."

* * *

Jack scowled as the murderous, blood-sucking needle drew closer and closer to his unsuspecting arm. As much as he didn't want to give blood, he knew that if he didn't Sam and their kid could die. 

He winced for show as the needle pierced his skin. "There, Colonel," the nurse said as she withdrew the needle, "Thank you for your contribution."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Jack hopped off the bed and walked out the door, deciding that he was going to go see how Sam was doing.

When he got there, he found Hope watching Malady and Sam sleep from the window. She turned and nodded at him when he entered. "Hello, Colonel."

He nodded, "Dr. Newman. Where's Hope?"

She smiled wearily, "She's resting. Being in control for so long was… exerting to say the least, sir."

"I can't _possibly_ begin to understand," Jack said in his usual sarcastic manner that caused a wane smile to grace the woman's face.

"How are you holding up, sir?" Holly asked a few silent minutes later.

Jack shrugged, "Fine, I guess. I'll be a lot happier when this whole thing is over with."

Holly nodded, '_I'm not so sure I will.'_

Hours later Hope was rested enough to take control of Holly's body again and begin the making of the jar. It wasn't that complicated for the being – it just looked that way to the humans that surrounded her. The clay she needed was from a planet the SGC hadn't explored yet. Thankfully it was a friendly planet and the natives were more than willing to give SG-5 some of their clay (with a fairly large naquadah ratio, of course).

"Pass me the vial of blood now. If there's any way of knowing if this is going to work, we need to test it out first." Holly's hands and arms were covered in clay-y mud up to her elbows. Hope was exhausted for having kept control as long as she had, but Holly wasn't letting her give up when they were so close to a cure for Major Carter. It didn't help matters much that they had to speed-work because the longer Malady stayed in Sam, the stronger she got and the more likely chance her virus had of spreading.

Anne handed over the vial of blood taken from Colonel O'Neill and Major Carter; "What are we going to test it on?"

"Me."

* * *

"Malady. Open your eyes, I know you're awake." Hope put her face close to Sam's and stared at her as she pretended to sleep. 

Without opening her eyes, she responded, "What do you want, sister dear? To put me back in my jar? You can't – it was destroyed beyond repair."

A sneer covered Hope's face, "Did you forget? I was the one who created the jars to entrap us in the first place. Either you can go back in your jar willingly, Malady, or they will kill you."

Her eyes shot open, the blue of Sam's eyes even more piercing with the silver streaks across the orbs. "What do you mean, Hope?"

"You're host was once the host of a Goa'uld."

"So? We've had many hosts of such before."

"She is pregnant, yes?" Hope's face drew closer to her sister's. If Malady wanted to do this the hard way then Hope was more than willing to oblige. She whispered in Sam's ear, "The father of Major Carter's unborn child – the child you wish to be your Carrier – is an Ancient."

Sam's eyes went wide, the silver streaks flaring brightly as Malady raged within her. Hope pulled back as the unfortunate woman suffered through a seizure. Quickly Hope went to the red button on the wall and pushed it, knowing from her host's memory that it would call a medical team immediately.

Hope gave up control of Holly as the team came rushing through, Dr. Brightman in the lead. "Get the jars ready!" Holly cried as she ran to the cart in the back of the room where Daniel had put the jars after they were completed. Picking up the jar marked with Hope's personal symbols, Holly covered her mouth and nose with it, allowing Hope to recede back into the familiar darkness.

When Hope's essence was finally completely secured in the jar, Holly passed it to a nearby airman who put it back on the cart while Holly collapsed.

While this was all taking place, Sam was still seizing, as much as Anne tried to stop it. Jack watched in agony as each jerking motion Sam made caused a snap to ring throughout the room. Sam's chest rose off the bed slowly, as the white dust that was Malady started to appear in the air above Sam's face.

"The jar!" Jack yelled to another airman. "Get the jar!"

Soon the jar sporting the name _Malady_ was covering the face of the SGC's best and brightest theoretical astrophysicist.

Sam's eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed as the dust exited her body and into the jar. Dr. Brightman quickly sealed it to prevent escape before checking the now stable vital signs on both her patents.

"Let's do an MRI to make sure it's gone," Anne told one of the nurses before turning back to the anxiously waiting male part of SG-1 and General Hammond. "It looks good, sirs. Their eyes have regained their normal coloring, and their breathing has cleared up."

Hammond nodded, feeling relief gush throughout his body at the news. "Thank you, Doctor. Keep us apprised. Colonel O'Neill? My office. _Now_."

Jack sighed, "I knew this was going to happen."

* * *

A/N: So? What do you think? Just one more chapter left!  



	6. Ending Option One

A/N: Well, here you all go! This is the first of two endings (someone asked me what would happen if a specific thing happened and I wanted to answer that question without changing the ending I've already written).

* * *

Jack stood before Hammond's desk, his arms behind his back and his eyes staring straight ahead in perfect military stance. Hammond was just sitting there, in his nice, big, cozy chair watching Jack and waiting for him to break.

The two stayed like that for some time, the only noise in the office being the ticking of the clock on the wall. Finally, it was Hammond who spoke first. "What happened, Jack? Why now? Why the hell _now_?"

Jack's eyes darted down; "Sir?"

Hammond sighed, "I was informed last week that we are to be placed before the oversight committee next week. Un-orderly conduct among officers is the charge. It seems the NID has been watching you and Major Carter – just waiting for this to happen. Why now?"

Jack's focus returned to right above Hammond's head, "It was right after Janet's funeral, sir. We were both drunk and it… happened."

"Has there been anything else going on before or since?"

"No, sir. And, sir, if you'll accept it – I'd like to resign, effective immediately. Retirement sounds pretty good right now."

Hammond sighed again, "I'll see what I can do. Just so you know, there is a civilian post opening soon – the president wants to set up a Delta Sight. It seems just two sights to evacuate to aren't enough any more."

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh, and Colonel? Do you love her?"

Jack faltered. "I… don't know, sir. It's possible. I care about her a lot, though. If that counts for anything."

Hammond nodded, "It does, son. Go see her."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Sam felt the pressure release her body as Malady left, spirited away into the jar. Sam wanted so much to just jump out of bed and hug everyone – especially Jack, for the child that had almost condemned her, then saved her. But at the sudden release of the burden, Sam's body went into a coma. It was the same coma Holly was suffering from after the effects of Hope. 

Sam struggled back to the land of the conscious a few days later, voices befuddled her mind as she began to awaken.

Her light blue eyes opened slowly, careful to avoid the shock of the florescent lights. Deep, chocolate brown eyes greeted her. She smiled softly, "Hi."

"Hi," Jack said, happy to see her awake. "How do you feel?"

"Thirsty. Glad to be awake, sir."

Jack smirked, "Guess what?"

"What, sir?"

His grin grew wider, "You're no longer allowed to call me that, Sam."

"What? Why!"

Jack sighed, "You've been in a coma for a week. And in that time the President has looked over our situation here at the SGC. Some changes have been made."

Sam had just woken up, was thirsty beyond belief and now Jack was playing mind games with her! That was just wrong! "What changes?"

"For starters – _Colonel_ Carter – you are the leader of a new team called SG-25. It's a new, all scientist team to be composed of at your leisure and to not start active duty until after you've gotten back from maternity leave."

* * *

Sam sat in the commissary with her new team: Lt. Jennifer Haley; Dr. Andrew Hopkins and Captain Tiffany Weber Ph.D. All of them were eating their choice of desserts and discussing the first planet they would be visiting (lots of interesting technology and possibly a few space guns). 

The premier trip was a mere three months away. Sam had given birth four months before and her baby boy, Shane Thomas O'Neill, would be weaned in the few months ahead. Jack was actually looking forward to being able to spend more time with his young son – Sam got all the cool jobs!

"So, Colonel O'Neill?" Jennifer asked politely.

"Yes, Haley?" Sam responded like any good teacher.

"Are you still going to be working full time with Shane running around?"

Sam put down her spoon and looked at the younger woman carefully. "Why would you think that I wouldn't?"

She shrugged, "There's some rumors going around that you're resigning."

Sam frowned, "The rumors said 'Colonel S. O'Neill is resigning?'"

"No, just Colonel O'Neill."

Sam's grin was malicious at best, "Jack's resigning. The President has a civilian post all lined up, but Jack wants to spend the majority of his time with Shane – not gallivanting across the galaxy."

"So… Colonel O'Neill is going to be a house-husband?"

Sam's grin widened, "No, General Hammond said they're going to convert one of the rooms into a nursery."

"Oh. Cool!"

Fin


	7. Ending Option Two

A/N: This starts right after the end of "Bringing This Thing to a Head". Don't be confused!

* * *

Jack glumly walked to Hammond's office right behind the older man. All the personnel the two passed were shocked to see the defeated demeanor of the base's 2IC. No one was used to seeing Jack actually look like a subordinate. 

Once inside Hammond's office and the door was closed, Hammond gave Jack a glare that made his blood run cold. "What the _hell_ were you two thinking?"

Jack averted his gaze to right above Hammond's shoulder; "I don't know if we really were thinking, sir. We were both drunk, and it only happened once –"

"I don't care if it was only a two minute fuck, Colonel!" Hammond roared. Inside Jack was cowering in fear that Hammond had used _that_ word. He'd never heard the General swear before. "The point is that both of you broke the rules. Rules you've both known about since the _Academy_!"

"Yes, sir."

Hammond was livid with rage. He'd put a lot on the line that these two officers could keep up professional behavior on and off work. He'd risked not only his own career but also the reputation of the whole damn mountain!

"Both of you will be court marshaled as soon as the paperwork comes through. Be prepared for anything and everything, Colonel."

"Sir?" Jack asked in confusion.

"The NID has been keeping tabs on all SGC personnel. Chances are they already know about this! You're only hope of staying in the Air Force is that whatever judge they give you will take into account that the child conceived saved human kind."

"Yes, sir."

"You are forbidden to leave this base until your escort comes to take you to where your trial will be held."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed," Hammond said in a clipped tone.

Without another word, Jack left and made a beeline to his on-base quarters. His mind was occupied with thoughts about what he had done… what _they_ had done… he should have stopped it. He hadn't been _that_ drunk.

He had been sitting in his room, staring at the wall for God knows how long before the phone rang. "O'Neill," he spoke into the receiver.

"Colonel?" Dr. Brightman asked. "Major Carter's awake. She wants to see you, sir."

"I'll be right there, Doc."

* * *

Less than two minutes later Jack was standing outside Sam's isolation room, wondering if he had the courage to go inside. Daniel made the decision for him. 

The archeologist was just coming out of Sam's room when he saw Jack just standing there, doing nothing. The younger man sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Come on, Jack," he said, grabbing his arm and dragging him inside. Much to his surprise Jack didn't even argue with him about it. Not even for show.

Sam's smile for Jack was small and only half-hearted. "Hey, sir."

"Hey, Carter," he said sadly.

"I guess you heard."

"Yeah. Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Sam shook her head, "I only really found out last week. It takes a lot of courage to get up the nerve to tell your commanding officer that you're pregnant – with his child."

Jack furrowed his brow, trying to come to terms with everything he'd learned in the past few days. "But… didn't you have your period last week?"

Sam smirked at how bluntly he put it. "No. I thought I did, but when it only lasted two days I went to my gynecologist and asked him to perform a pregnancy test. It came back positive. Ever since I've been… fairly emotional."

Jack snorted in response - it was obvious to the janitor of the commissary that Sam was 'fairly emotional'. The two talked for a few more minutes before Dr. Brightman kicked Jack out so Sam could get some more rest. He didn't tell her about the court marshal.

* * *

The USAF Colonel made his way back to General Hammond's office prepared to do anything and everything to protect Sam's career. He knocked on the open door once before going in. 

"Don't court marshal Carter."

Hammond looked up, startled, from the report he had been reading. "Excuse me, Colonel?"

"Don't court marshal Carter. Sir."

"Yes, I heard you. Now you better be able to give me a very good reason why not to."

"It's my fault all this happened."

"You raped her?" Somehow Hammond knew that no matter what had happened that was _definitely_ not it.

"God, no! But I was more sober than she was."

"How do you know, Colonel? I've known Major Carter for many years – she can hold her liquor with the best of them."

Jack sighed, "Fine, I don't know. But if the only way to get you to not court marshal Carter is to tell you that I raped her… then, fine. I'll accept the blame for that, too."

Hammond, listening intently, leaned forward in his chair. "Son, do you know what your saying? Because if you do and if you're serious then I'm going to have to file a report and this is probably going to make national news. Do you really want to do this, Jack?"

Jack thought for a few moments, his mind telling him not to do it, but his heart telling him it was the only way to keep Sam and the baby safe. "Do you have a better idea, sir?"

"Let Carter handle herself. She's been doing it for over thirty years."

Jack shook his head; "I can't make that decision for her."

"Then tell her and let her make her own decision. She _is_ one of the smartest people in the world, you know."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Sam was nearly in tears when Jack told her about the court marshal. "Y-you mean they're actually going to court marshal us?" 

"Appears so, Carter," Jack responded, plopping down on the bed next to her.

Before their conversation could continue Teal'c and Daniel walked in, the latter bearing a bouquet of daisies. "Hey, guys. How are you feeling Sam?"

She shrugged, "I don't know how _to_ feel. I'm pregnant and I've just been told that _because_ I'm pregnant I'm going to be court marshaled."

Daniel looked a little taken back, and when he looked at Teal'c the Jaffa answered. "Do you have any hope of coming out of this 'court marshal' unscathed?"

"No, T. They're probably going to reassign her to Antarctica and I'm probably going to be forced to retire," Jack answered with a sigh.

"Did you not consider going through the Stargate to escape punishment? One of our allies would most certainly take you into their society."

Sam and Jack shared a look without speaking.

* * *

Senator Kinsey grinned as his truck pulled closer and closer to the SGC. He'd just gotten word that he'd be leading the investigation into the charges of fraternization against O'Neill and Carter. His day couldn't get any better. 

The guards at the check-in points were icy as usual, so Kinsey didn't think anything of it. But when he was walking toward General Hammond's office, he noticed that everyone he passed shared the icy demeanor of the guards. Some were even brave enough to give him cold stares.

The Senator found General Hammond on the phone when he arrived at his office. The General quickly finished his conversation and turned to look at the stocky man he'd grown to hate. "Well? Happy now, Kinsey?"

"What the devil are you talking about, General?"

"Don't you know?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, General. I'm simply here to collect Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill for their trip down to Peterson awaiting their trials. Where are they?"

Hammond seemed to grow angrier and angrier by the minute; "They _left_."

"Left, where?"

"_How_ the hell should I know? They went through the damn Stargate!"

* * *

Sam and Jack looked at the tenth planet they'd 'Gated to in the last half an hour. Sam was starting to get tired, and Jack could see it. "Come on, Carter. We'll rest here for a bit before we move on to our new home." 

"Yes, sir."

Jack looked at her quizzically as they sat down on a fallen tree. "We can't go back, you know? Not now, not ever."

She looked into his eyes and saw love and ardor in their depths that were mirrored in her own; "I know, sir."

"You're still going to call me, 'sir'?"

Sam smiled, looking down at her feet. That sounded exactly like what her hallucination of him had said when she was stranded on the Prometheus. "As long as you don't call me Carter."

Jack took her into his arms, relishing the feel of holding her. "I think that can be arranged, _Samantha_."

A few hours later, the sun was starting to set. "Come on," Sam said as she reluctantly got up from the log. "We've got to get to our new home."

Jack and Sam stepped through the Stargate again. This time, however, they were on Argos.

The two looked around and saw that the temple was, in fact, desolate and bear from the garlands and statues that had once ordained the place.

Sam turned to Jack and smiled, "Here, our baby will grow up loved and safe – with _both_ parents to raise it."

Fin

* * *

A/N: So? What think you? Better or worse than the other ending? I personally like both of them...but this one is longer and better written. Well, tell me what you think please! 


End file.
